Perforated sheet



J 1942. M. J. VAN DEN BIGGELAAR 2,235,317

PERFORATED SHEET Filed Dec. 7, 1939 Patented June 2, 1942 PERFOBATED SHEET,

Martinus Josephus van den Biggelaar, Amsterdam, Netherlands Application December 7, 1939, Serial No. 308,070 r In the Netherlands January 18, 1939 1 Claim. (C1. 129-1) The invention relates to sheets of paperfor correspondence and also to sheets of paper in-- tended for correspondenceand for carbon copies.

For putting away correspondence, i. e. filing letters received and carbon copies of letters sent I off, in files or other appliances provided with pinsor tongues on which the letters are placed it is necessary to provide the documents to be filed with perforations the mutual distances between which have been standardized to 8 cm.

It is usual to file away the correspondence received after it has been given due attention and to provide the same with the filing perforations immediately before filing, This often takes a large amount of time, because of the fact that attention is also to be paid to any writing which may have been applied on the margin or on the back of the sheet,-since this might be rendered illegible by the perforations.

It is also difiicult even when filing a number of letters of the same kind to arrange the same in. an orderly and regular manner, unless the letters are perforated one at a time with a perforator which is provided with a measuring ruler.

When perforating several letters at the same time one always'runs the risk of applying the perforations in written text. Letters that are different in length and width cannot very well be perforated simultaneously.

7 The present invention'has for its purpose to L- obviate the said drawbacks and consists in preparing the blanks or sheets of paper before they are used for writing purposes for being placed on the pins or tongues of the files by providing them with filing perforations, preferably applied from the back.

In this manner the original after having been received and given due attention may be filed at i once, while the remaining carbon copy of the reply may be immediately filed away. In this manner the time used for applying individual perforations may be saved everywhere, there will beno longer any need of providing a large number of perforators and one is no longer the sheet or on the back at the placesof the perforations. With the present invention it is obviated to write on the back of the writing paper, at least not on the margin thereof.

According to the invention the perforations are made in the sheets of writing paper at the stationers or at the printers' Perforation may be effected either before, during or after printing in large quantities. the term blank in the present case means: Not yet provided with writing either by hand or by typewriter, but if desired provided with a printed letterhead or some other inscription,

It is already known in itself to perforate periodically appearing printed booklets prior to despatching the same, but up to the present sheets of paper for corresponding purposes have not, to the best of applicants knowledge and belief, been perforated prior to being written upon, whereby the drawbacks mentioned above which have been during several decades have been obviated.

According to the invention the perforations are preferably applied to the paper from the back, which produces the additional advantage that filing is rendered more easy, since with this manner of applying the perforations the tendency of the edges of the perforations to bend outwardly is rendered profitable. According to the In order to facilitate filing the perforations may be provided with black or colored printed edges, framings or boundings surrounding the said perforations either completely or partially. According to the invention use is also made to advantage of perforations which are surrounded by lines facilitating their placing upon the filing pins or tongues. Particularly with the usual :fiat and flexible tongues this is of advantage.

The invention will not be further explained with the aid of the drawing representing an embodiment thereof.

Fig. l is a plan view of blank of correspondence paper according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross section on an enlarged scale through one of the perforations; the side bearing the printed letter head facing upwardly.

In the said figures the reference numeral I represents the blank of paper which is provided with any desired kind of a printed letterhead. In the present embodiment the perforations are applied at 3 and spaced 8 cm. apart, the said perforations being provided with an annular bounda- This also implies that tion and being slightly pressed upwardly towards the face of the sheet, which feature is indicated on enlarged scale in Fig. 2. The portion of the sheet which surrounds and defines the perforation is.

turned upwardly to form an upwardly inclined beveled surface or truncated cone, the upper edge of which has a smooth circumference disposed in a plane parallel'to but spaced slightly above the plane of the remainder of the sheet. By virtue of this construction the lower entrance to the perforation has a larger diameter than the circumferentially smooth upper entrance, this arrangement materially facilitating the placing of the sheets upon the binder posts or pins.

In contradistinction to perforations applied from the face of the sheet towards the back the present perforation which has been applied from the back towards the front'has the advantage that the sharp edges of the flat metal tongues of the usual files will not so easily engage the edges of the perforations which has proved to be rather troublesome up to the present. As

stated above the paper near the edges of the perforations may be provided to advantage with lines which will facilitate the placing of the letters on flat metal tongues or other filing members by enabling the filing clerk to locate more quickly-the position of the said members with regard-to the perforation.

It will be evident that the present invention will create a new want and possesses advantages which hitherto have been unattainable.

I claim:

A correspondence sheet adapted for filing in aligned, non-stepped relation, and perforated with predetermined uniform spacing with respect to the top, bottom and side margins, said perforations being performed from the back toward the front thereof thereby causing the portion of the sheet which surrounds and defines the perforation to turn upwardly to form an upwardly inclined beveled surface whereby the lower entrance to the perforation has a larger diameter than the upper entrance to facilitate the placing of the sheets upon filing devices, the upper edge of the wall defining the perforation being circumferentially smooth, said sheet being provided with coloring matter adjacent said perforations on the upturned side thereof and contrasting to the remainder of the sheet to prevent writing on the front of the sheet and on the back of the sheet which would be concealed by superimposed filed sheets and to cooperate with said upturned edges as a visible guide to locating the filing devices, said perforations and the coloring operations being performed before any writing upon said sheet.

MARTINUS J OSEPHUS VAN DEN BIGGELAAR. 

